Manasseh Sogavare, right, and Australia's deputy PM Richard Marles met in Honiara last month. Photo: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Australian government says it is "ready" to talk to Solomon Islands about its plans for a defence force.
On Monday, Solomon's Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare revealed his country's intent to establish a military force due to an inadequately resourced police force.
"Solomon Islands over the years have always relied on the presence of foreign police and military force during its internal crisis," Sogavare told journalists in Honiara.
"Time has come. Time has come for Solomon Islands to empower its police force, invest in stability, and break the dependence it has on external security arrangements."
He said "China is responding" to his country's security needs.
"We basically need new solutions in dealing with old problems...the country has with all its partners reinforced each other and should not be read in a divisive but rather a cohesive manner by our external partners," he said.
RNZ Pacific asked the New Zealand and Australian governments whether they would support the Solomon Islands intentions to realise its plans.
While the New Zealand government has not commented if it would support Solomon Islands military ambitions, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said Australia "respects the right of all nations to make sovereign decisions about their engagement with other countries".
But the spokesperson noted that the decisions made by individual countries could have an impact on others in the region.
The Australian government's position, they said, was "consistent with other regional leaders that the security of the Pacific is the shared responsibility of the Pacific Family".
"As its principal security partner, Australia stands ready to discuss Solomon Islands' security needs and aspirations, when asked".
On Thursday, ABC reported that Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles was happy to support Solomon Islands plans.
"What was indicated to me by the prime minister is that this is a path that Solomon Islands is interested in walking down," he said.
